Directed By Luca Guadagnino
Starring – Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman
The Plot – William Lee (Craig), an American expat and heroin addict in Mexico City, spends his days almost entirely alone, except for a few contacts with other members of the small American community he lives in. His encounter with Eugene Allerton (Starkey), an expat former soldier, makes him believe it might finally be possible to establish an intimate connection with somebody.
Rated R for strong sexual content, graphic nudity, strong drug content, adult language and brief violence.
Queer | Official Trailer HD | A24
POSITIVES
If ‘Call Me By Your Name’ was Guadagnino’s soft and subtle look at unrequited love, then ‘Queer’ is his violent shove into the world of lustful passion that only one of its most vividly evocative directors can capably pull off. This is exuded in many things, but especially Luca’s steering of the camera, serving as a surveilling party to the body language of lovers, as it studies every swaying curve and sensitive area to inspire a sensuality to the interaction that we very rarely see in gay movies, but one that Luca effortlessly articulates as one of the most fearless auteurs of our time. From the opening sex scene, Luca sets the precedent for what’s to come in exploiting every angle of his coveted R-rating, even at the risk of making audiences uncomfortable in orchestrating the animalistic urges of a victim plagued by uncontrollable lust that comes to consume him. Speaking of auteur, I’m head over heels about the way the production luminates Mexico City, both in a seamlessly captive method to emulate the trends and decor of the 1950’s setting, but also in the lighting, framing and even miniature sets used for transitions of each shot, which immaculately conjure an essence of noir nightscapes to the established environments that are downright intoxicating when balanced with the most eclectic score that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have conjured to this point. Unlike their previous efforts in Guadagnino’s earlier film from this year, ‘Challengers’, which was dominated by techno beats to mirror the fast pace of a tennis match, here Reznor and Ross instead inspire moodily atmospheric ambiance that speaks especially well to psychological loneliness plaguing Craig’s character, but never in ways that hang continuously overhead like a wet blanket that saturates the entertainment value of what’s unveiling. As to where other Reznor and Ross collaborations maintain an air of familiarity to their compositions that feel distinct to the heft that they often lift from atmospheric dread, the collection elicited here feel instrumentally and tonally unlike anything that they’ve ever attempted, and that versatility and evolution is something that I appreciate in composers in order to keep their appeal freshly innovative in the minds of their consumers. In terms of storytelling, it’s admittedly a bit hit and miss for Justin Kuritzkes (Challengers), but I can clearly assess that the first half of this movie pertaining to the suppressed urges of free expression is something that I found accessibly compelling, particularly in the unabashed social commentary that Luca stitches into the material, in order to illustrate the ridiculousness of how gay lifestyles were thought to be something worth shaming and kept hidden away from public eyes. During the opening scenes of the movie, we’re shown illegal and underage prostitution, drug deals, and even cock-fighting that are each embraced by curious parties, and in William and Eugene having to hide their love away to the interiors of the various set establishments, it conveys an overwhelming irony that feels just as relevant to the suppressed minds of today, teaching that many things don’t require explanation, so why does something so integral to ones wants and needs that ultimately complete them? The first half of the movie also feels most focused for the unraveling narrative, with William and Eugene’s conflict for coming out attaining a tragic appraisal to what’s unfortunately transpiring between them, and while the rest of the film’s eventual actions do spring as a result of William’s obsession, they don’t always utilize it in the most effective of ways, which made me appreciate those subtle moments of intimacy and affection that said so much more than artistic expression ever could. As for the performances, this is another virtuoso showcase for Daniel Craig, who trades in the suavely seductive sizzle of James Bond for the nerve-wracking and unconfident demeanor of William, in order to orchestrate someone that feels so emotionally diverse from the kinds of characters that he has portrayed to this point. Craig’s timidly curious actions do simultaneously render laughs and empathy during the moments that they’re needed most, but his single greatest triumph come during the physicality that he unleashes when the thirst inside him eventually comes to be fully satisfied, and as a result we witness that bumbling lack of comfortability transcended with a euphoric radiance that showers down in the ways he looks and touches Starkey, even during moments that aren’t sexually articulated. In addition to Craig’s award-worthy performance, unrecognizable turns from Jason Schwartzman and Lesley Manville also pushed the proverbial needle in the movie’s favor, with the former enveloped in convincing weight-adding prosthetics while unloading many of the movie’s strongest laughs, and the latter with equally believable wig work and subtly in make-up that serve as the visual reflection of a character so quirky and strange by societal isolation.
NEGATIVES
While I’ve always championed Luca’s desire to embrace his artistically unnerving side, doing so metaphorically here during the movie’s inferior second half doesn’t feel beneficial to interpreting audiences, especially when these boldly beautiful emotions are conveyed with bold imagery and tonal execution that is difficult not to laugh at. Following along to what the movie was articulating was never a problem, just how it did so, and with a sharp detour of a third act climax that makes these scenes feel like an entirely different movie all together, it sucked the momentum and my investment directly out of the movie, leaving a lasting final image that does hit emotionally in the areas that it should, but ultimately at the cost of a ridiculously unnecessary drug-fueled journey that I wish wasn’t as big a part of the movie as it eventually grew to become. This leads to expressions from the audience that do feel a bit improper when in tow with sincere sentiments that are anything but funny, but even worse than this grinded the pacing of the movie to a screeching halt in ways that had me checking my watch every ten minutes during what should be the most excitingly intense part of the movie, where the realities of this being a 130 minute engagement finally caught up to pacing consistencies that were otherwise mostly unbothersome, despite some occasional prolonged meandering in scenes that definitely could’ve used a tighter cut. In addition to this, another major problem that I had pertained to the production, primarily in the song selections during introspective sequences surrounding William that were strange for a variety of reasons. This might be the only time on record when I’ve complained about one of my all-time favorite bands (Nirvana) being used in a movie, but the considering this is a film that takes place in the 1950’s, it comes across as one of those Baz Luhrman moments that unintentionally detract from what visually is playing out, but also detracted from a scenically spellbinding aforementioned score from Reznor and Ross, whose compositions perfectly mirrored both the personality of the characters and complexities of their environments. While I totally understand that Luca’s intention might’ve been for the lyrics of certain pop culture songs to mirror those internal feelings of the characters, I prefer their exploiting to be left to the capabilities of the actors, as accommodating tracks just feel like another example of hand-fisted exposition that takes away from the subtlety of their expressions. Finally, I felt that it was a strange choice to not include subtitle translations for some of the Spanish speaking characters who receive a focal point of the interactions during the opening act. Perhaps it was a way that Luca illustrated that feeling of being a stranger in a strange land, whose underlining secret makes him feel even stranger, but for me it directly undercut the establishing sentiments of the setting, and if not for taking two years of Spanish in high school, I wouldn’t of been able to distinguish one particular slur spoken from a taxi cab driver, which I’m sure uninformed audiences would be curious to know why he’s so cold towards William, after he declined a ride from him.
OVERALL
‘Queer’ doesn’t quite reach the comfortable consistency of some of Guadagnino’s superior films, as a result of a self-indulgently dejecting climax, but it is an endearingly introspective look into lustful obsession that spares no expense rendering the passion and synergy of its gay leading dynamic that are typically reserved for straight couples. Led by a daringly powerful performance from Daniel Craig, as well as stylistic impulses that make the setting stand out three-dimensionally, the film is a sweaty and seductive adaptation that has just enough to move its audience, even if its sentiments are occasionally suppressed by overwhelmingly exaggerated imagery that metaphorically squanders such serenity.
My Grade: 6/10 or C+